Installation for shifting won minerals

ABSTRACT

A system for shifting won minerals with a continuous conveyor such as a belt or chain conveyor has a machine frame and a shovel pivotably coupled to booms. The booms are aligned in a vertically pivotable manner with a rocker arm that is pivotably coupled to the front end of the machine frame. The booms and the rocker arm are connected to the front end of the machine frame by hydraulic cylinder units. The loading shovel is swivel-mounted about at least one essentially horizontal axle to dump the debris into a feed chute provided at the front end area of the continuous conveyor. The rocker arm has at least one hydraulic cylinder unit supported at the front end of the machine frame and behind the corresponding rocker arm support to provide a compact design with improved load-bearing capacity and a reduced danger of tipping.

FIELD OF USE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an installation for shifting wonminerals with a continuous conveyor designed in particular as a belt orchain conveyor. This conveyor system comprises a machine frame and ashovel pivotably coupled to booms. The booms are coupled in vertically apivotable manner to a rocker arm that is pivotably coupled to the frontend of the machine frame. The booms and the rocker arm are connected tothe front end of the machine frame by hydraulic cylinder units. A feedchute is arranged above the continuous conveyor in the front end area ofthe machine frame facing the debris. In order to dump the debris intothe feed chute, the loading shovel is pivotable about at least oneessentially horizontal axle that crosses or intersects the longitudinalaxis of the conveyor system and the pivot drive of the booms passes overan angle of traverse. The upper edge of the rear wall of the loadingshovel is above the opening of the feed chute and forms the dischargeedge of the material picked up by the loading shovel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Conveyor systems for hauling debris or installations for shifting wonminerals of the kind described at the beginning are known, for example,from Austrian patent 380 451. With this known device, the picked-upmaterial could be transferred onto a continuous conveyor by swivellingthe rocker arm and the booms and by also swivelling the loading shovel,though relatively expensive connecting rod kinematics are required inlight of the swivel path required for such an overhead transfer of thepicked-up material. The type of coupling and the actuation of the rockerarm and booms in the known device made it necessary to lift and swivelthe loading shovel in the longitudinal direction of the machinerelatively far from the machine's center of gravity so that a correctdistribution of weight in the longitudinal direction of the conveyorsystem had to be ensured to prevent tipping. In such a device therequired stability can be guaranteed only by the appropriate weight andby constructing a correspondingly long continuous conveyor as acounterweight arm.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims to improve a device of the type described atthe beginning in such a way that the loadbearing capacity is improvedwhile the danger of tipping is reduced and at the same time conditionsare created which permit better manueverability and turning ability ofthe device without increasing the risk of tipping. With the deviceaccording to the present invention, this object is solved by supportingthe hydraulic cylinder unit or units for the rocker arm at the front endof the machine frame and behind the corresponding rocker arm support atthe front end of the machine frame. Since the hydraulic cylinder unit orunits for the rocker arm is or are supported at the front end of themachine frame and behind the corresponding rocker arm support at thefront end of the machine frame, a shorter machine (with respect to itslongitudinal direction) may be constructed and the condition is createdwherein both the rocker arm and the booms move near the front end of themachine frame when they are swivelled overhead to transfer the picked-upmaterial onto a following continuous conveyor. This substantiallyreduces the danger of tipping. The kinematics chosen in this case forcoupling the rocker arm and pivot drive permits a more compact designand in view of the fact that the entire swivel path passes closer to thefront edge of the machine frame and thus closer to the tipping edgedefined by the front wheels, it is possible to use correspondinglyshorter continuous conveyors and thus reduce the entire length of themachine, thereby clearly increasing the manueverability. Supporting thehydraulic cylinder unit for the rocker arm in the manner indicated alsooffers an improved load-bearing capacity, since pressure acts on thepiston side of such a hydraulic cylinder unit when inserting the shovelinto the debris and lifting the shovel in sequence. In contrast,comparable designs, such as the above-noted design according to Austrianpatent 380 451 accept tensile stress of the pivot drive.

The configuration according to the present invention is designed in aparticularly advantageous manner in that, when viewed from the side, thesupport of the rocker arm at the front end of the machine frame liesbetween the supports on the side of the machine frame of the hydrauliccylinder units for the pivot drive of the rocker arm and the booms. Insuch a configuration, hydraulic cylinder units dimensioned in accordancewith the forces to be absorbed can be accommodated in space-savingmanner without any restrictions or obstructions resulting over therelatively large swivel path of the booms and the shovel. A particularlycompact design results if the booms are offset and if the free ends ofthe booms, to which the shovel is pivotably coupled, run essentiallyparallel to the hydraulic cylinder unit or units swivelling the boomsvertically when the shovel is lowered near the front end of the machineframe.

Apart from the fact that a reduction in the overall length of themachine is possible by improving the kinematics of the pivot drive ofthe rocker arm and the booms and simultaneously improving the absorptionof supporting forces and thus increasing the manueverability and turningability, this manueverability and turning ability can nevertheless beimproved in accordance with a preferred embodiment where the machineframe comprises a front and a rear frame part which are joined togetherby an articulated joint with an articulated axle running transversely tothe longitudinal direction of the machine. The continuous conveyor isformed from two conveyors joined together, their transfer point lying inthe articulated joint area of the frame parts. The result of such anarticulated joint in the machine frame is that in an angled position thecenter of gravity position is clearly displaced, whereby the danger oftipping would clearly increase during such swivelling of the rear partof a machine frame compared to the front part of the machine frame ifthe kinematics to reduce the danger of tipping are not simultaneouslyimproved. Owing to the fact that the path of motion of the loadingshovel is on the whole closer to the front edge of the front part of themachine frame and can thus be moved closer to the tipping edge of thefront wheels, it is now possible to also use the design known forfront-end loaders, for example from German OS 3 200 084, for centerpivot steering in a compact device. This simultaneously supports amovable continuous conveyor that can be adapted to requirements.

A particularly compact and short configuration of the pivot drive forthe loading shovel relative to the booms or to a crossgrider that isitself again pivotable relative to the booms can be achieved where thedrive hydraulic cylinder units for swivelling a crossgrider for theloading shovel and swivelling the loading shovel relative to thiscrossgrider are arranged to intersect one another. The load-bearingcapacity is improved substantially by particularly small structuraldimensions, viewed in the longitudinal direction of the machine, andthus the danger of tipping is reduced through this measure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is explained in greater detail herebelow on thebasis of an exemplary embodiment schematically illustrated in thedrawings.

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a conveyor system according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 shows a top view in the direction of arrow II of the conveyorsystem in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 shows on enlarged scale a side view of the coupling of theloading shovel via booms and rocker arms.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The device or installation 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises afront frame part 2 and a rear frame part 3 which are pivotably connectedto one another via a schematically illustrated articulated joint with anaxis 4. Frame parts 2 and 3 are movable by means of wheels 5. Asillustrated more precisely in FIG. 3, a loading shovel 8 is coupled tothe front frame part by a rocker arm 6 and booms 7, whereby the dashedlines in FIG. 1 indicate a few positions of the loading shovel 8 and theassociated swivel paths of the front edge 9 of the loading shovel 8.Material or debris picked up by the loading shovel 8 is transferred viaa feed chute 35 at the front end area of the front frame part 2 onto afirst continuous conveyor 10 designed, for example, as a belt or chainconveyor, and in further sequence is transferred via a transfer station11 lying in the area of the articulated axle 4 onto a second continuousconveyor 13 which is supported on the rear frame part 3 and which can beraised and lowered by a hydraulic cylinder unit 12. The second conveyor13 can be raised and lowered by the hydraulic cylinder unit 12 inaccordance with the double arrow 14 and is coupled to the rear framepart at 15. Coupling of the first conveyor 10 to the front frame part 2is indicated by reference numeral 16. To absorb impacts during transferof the material by the shovel to the first conveyor via the feed chute35 or during transfer of the material from the first conveyor to thesecond conveyor in the area of the transfer station 11, the conveyors 10and 13 are supported on damping blocks 17 so that together with thearticulated arrangement of the conveyors 10 and 13, impact loadsoccurring during transfer of the material can be at least partiallydamped.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, the rear frame part 3 can be pivotedrelative to the front frame part 2 about a relatively large angle αwhich, for example, can be on the order of magnitude of 30° from thecenter line, so that when pivoted into one of the two lateral positionsindicated by the dashed lines, there is a noticeable displacement of thecenter of gravity of the entire conveyor system towards the front end ofthe machine or towards the loading shovel and its coupling.

To in every case guarantee minimum stability in machines with a compactoverall length without taking steps such as, for example, attachingcounterweights, the kinematics illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 3are chosen for the loading shovel. FIG. 3 illustrates the positionclosest to the front end of the machine frame. The rocker arm 6 ispivotably coupled at coupling point 18 to the front part 2 of themachine frame and can be pivoted in the direction of movement of theloading shovel 8 towards the debris by a hydraulic cylinder unit 20which is pivotably coupled to the frame at 19 and which at 21 engagesthe end of the rocker arm 6 opposite the coupling point 18. Booms 7 arepivotably coupled to the rocker arm 6 at 22 and can be actuated by atleast one hydraulic cylinder unit 24 coupled to the machine frame at 23,whereby the hydraulic cylinder unit 24 engages the boom 7 at 25 in thearea of the offset. A crossgirder or support 27 for the loading shovel 8is coupled to the booms 7 at 26. This loading shovel is pivotable by atleast one hydraulic cylinder unit 28 via an articulated coupling 29 onthe booms and an articulated coupling 30 on the crossgirder or support.To actuate or swivel the shovel relative to the crossgirder 27, thiscapability being of particular importance when picking up material, atleast one additional hydraulic cylinder unit 31 is provided. This atleast one cylinder unit engages the crossgirder 27 in the area of theswivel axis 26 of this crossgirder 27 and has a coupling point to theloading shovel 8 which is identified by reference numeral 32. The swivelaxis of the loading shovel is identified by reference numeral 34. As canbe clearly seen in FIG. 3, a very space-saving design results due to thefact that the hydraulic cylinder unit or units 20 for pivoting therocker arm 6 is or are coupled, when viewed from the side, to the frontend of the machine frame 2 behind the support 18 of the rocker arm. Thisdesign is further improved in that the support 18 of the rocker arm 6 onthe machine frame is provided between the supports 19 and 23 of thehydraulic cylinder units 20 and 24 on the front frame part 2. When theshovel is pulled back, this results in an almost parallel alignment ofthe rocker arm 6 with the hydraulic cylinder units 20 and 24. Arrangingthe hydraulic cylinder unit 20 behind the rocker arm 6, when viewed fromthe side, further makes it possible that the piston power is effectiveon hydraulic cylinder unit 20 when inserting the shovel into the debrisor material to be picked up. The offset design of the booms 7 favors theparallel arrangement at least of the cylinders 20 and 24 of the rockerarm 6 when completely retracted, so that the loading shovel 8 lies veryclose to the front wheels.

A further improvement in the compact design also arises when thecrossgirder or support 27 is coupled to the booms 7 at 26 close to theirlowest point. In this case, the intersecting arrangement of thehydraulic cylinder units 28 and 31 further improves the kinematics ofthe loading shovel 8, particularly when lifting and dischargingmaterial. The first conveyor, which ends in the area between the booms7, is not illustrated for the sake of clarity. To brace the essentiallyplate-like booms, cross-struts 33, which are likewise not illustrated inFIG. 3, are shown in FIG. 2.

The compact design of the connecting rod for the loading shovel allowsthe conveyor system 1 to be loaded parallel to the floor, and flawlessoperation without the danger of tipping during swivelling movement ofthe loading shovel in order to transfer material is guaranteed. Thedanger of tipping must not be ruled out because the conveyor system isused in drifts of relatively low heights and there is no free space upto the roof for tipping the machine and a correspondingly long conveyorthat serves as counterweight cannot be used.

Furthermore, moving the shovel parallel to the floor towards the debristo pick up the material can be improved with the proposed geometry forthe connecting rod. With the selected arrangement of the hydrauliccylinder units 20 and 24 relative to the coupling of the rocker arm 6,the hydraulic cylinder units 20 and 24 are activated in an activelycommunicating manner during movement towards the debris. During movementtowards the debris, the dead weight results in a higher activeresistance for the cylinder pair 20 and 24 and the hydraulic cylinderunits 20 first become effective along the lines of a lower resistancethrough impingement of the hydraulic cylinder units in an activelycommunicating manner. Following the communicating activation of thehydraulic cylinder units 20 and 24, an appropriate control effects aswitch to the independent activation of the individual hydrauliccylinder units, namely, when the shovel is inserted into the debris.

We claim:
 1. An apparatus for shifting won minerals for a continuousconveyor such as a belt or chain conveyor, said apparatus comprising:amachine frame; a plurality of rocker arms, each of said rocker armsbeing coupled in a vertically pivotable manner at a first end thereof tosaid machine frame; a plurality of booms, each of said booms beingpivotably coupled at a first end thereof to a corresponding one of saidplurality of rocker arms at a second end of said rocker arms; a shovelassembly pivotably coupled to each of said plurality of booms at asecond end of each of said booms; a plurality of rocker arm hydrauliccylinder units, each of said rocker arm hydraulic cylinder units beingconnected at a first end thereof to said machine frame and at a secondend thereof to a corresponding one of said plurality of rocker arms,said first rocker arm connection being between said first rocker armhydraulic cylinder unit connection and a front end of said machineframe, said second rocker arm hydraulic cylinder unit connection beingproximate to said first boom connection; a plurality of boom hydrauliccylinder units, each of said boom hydraulic cylinder units beingconnected at a first end thereof to said machine frame and at a secondend thereof to a corresponding one of said plurality of booms; acontinuous conveyor disposed on a top surface of said machine frame; afeed chute disposed above the continuous conveyor in a front end area ofthe machine frame, thereby facing the debris; wherein each of saidplurality of booms comprises a first portion proximate to said first endof each of said plurality of booms and a second portion proximate tosaid second end of each of said plurality of booms, said plurality ofboom hydraulic cylinder units each being substantially parallel to saidsecond portion of a corresponding one of said plurality of booms whensaid shovel assembly is in said first position; the loading shovel ispivotable about at least one essentially horizontal axle that intersectsan essentially vertical plane containing a longitudinal axis of theconveyor system; and said plurality of rocker arms and said plurality ofbooms may be disposed to place said shovel assembly in a first positionproximate to said front end of said machine frame and in a secondposition, said second position being above an opening of said loadingchute so that material in said shovel assembly may be discharged intosaid feed chute from a surface of said shovel assembly most proximate tosaid plurality of booms.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, whereinsaid first rocker arm connection is disposed between said first boomhydraulic cylinder unit connection and said first rocker arm hydrauliccylinder unit connection.
 3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or claim2, wherein:said machine frame comprises a front frame part, a rear framepart, and an articulated joint having an articulated axle runningtransversely to said longitudinal axis of said conveyor; and saidcontinuous conveyor comprises a front conveyor disposed on said frontframe part and a rear conveyor disposed on said rear frame part, saidfront and rear conveyors being joined together at a transfer stationdisposed at said articulated joint.
 4. An apparatus according to claim1, said shovel assembly comprising:a plurality of crossgirders, each ofsaid crossgirders being pivotably coupled at a first end thereof to acorresponding one of said booms at a second end of said one of saidbooms; a loading shovel pivotably coupled to each of said plurality ofcrossgirders at a second end of said crossgirders; a plurality ofcrossgirder hydraulic units for moving said shovel assembly relative tosaid plurality of booms, each of said plurality of crossgirders beingconnected at a first end to a corresponding one of said booms and at asecond end to a corresponding one of said crossgirders; a plurality ofshovel hydraulic units for moving said loading shovel relative to saidplurality of crossgirders, each of said plurality of shovel hydraulicunits being connected at a first end thereof to a corresponding one ofsaid crossgirders and at a second end thereof to said loading shovel;wherein each of said plurality of crossgirder hydraulic cylinder unitsand the loading shovel hydraulic cylinder unit connected to the same oneof said plurality of booms have axes substantially intersecting eachother.
 5. An apparatus for shifting won minerals for a continuousconveyor such as a belt or chain conveyor, said apparatus comprising:amachine frame comprising a front frame part, a rear frame part, and anarticulated joint having an articulated axle; a plurality of rockerarms, each of said rocker arms being coupled in a vertically pivotablemanner at a first end thereof to said machine frame; a plurality ofbooms, each of said booms being pivotably coupled at a first end thereofto a corresponding one of said plurality of rocker arms at a second endof said rocker arms; a shovel assembly pivotably coupled to each of saidplurality of booms at a second end of each of said booms; a plurality ofrocker arm hydraulic cylinder units, each of said rocker arm hydrauliccylinder units being connected at a first end thereof to said machineframe and at a second end thereof to a corresponding one of saidplurality of rocker arms, said first rocker arm connection being betweensaid first rocker arm hydraulic cylinder unit connection and a front endof said machine frame; a plurality of boom hydraulic cylinder units,each of said boom hydraulic cylinder units being connected at a firstend thereof to said machine frame and at a second end thereof to acorresponding one of said plurality of booms, said first rocker armconnection being disposed between said first boom hydraulic cylinderunit connection and said rocker arm hydraulic cylinder unit firstconnection; a continuous conveyor disposed on a top surface of saidmachine frame, said continuous conveyor comprising a front conveyordisposed on said front frame part and a rear conveyor disposed on saidrear frame part, said front and rear conveyors being joined together ata transfer station disposed at said articulated joint; a feed chutedisposed above the continuous conveyor in a front end area of themachine frame, thereby facing the debris; wherein each of said pluralityof booms comprises a first portion proximate to said first end of eachof said plurality of booms and a second portion proximate to said secondend of each of said plurality of booms, said plurality of boom hydrauliccylinder units each being substantially parallel to said second portionof a corresponding one of said plurality of booms when said shovelassembly is in said first position; said articulated axle runstransversely to said longitudinal axis of said conveyor; the loadingshovel is pivotable about at least one essentially horizontal axle thatintersects an essentially vertical plane containing a longitudinal axisof the conveyor system; and said plurality of rocker arms and saidplurality of booms may be disposed to place said shovel assembly in afirst position proximate to said front end of said machine frame and ina second position, said second position being above an opening of saidloading chute so that material in said shovel assembly may be dischargedinto said feed chute from a surface of said shovel assembly mostproximate to said plurality of booms.
 6. An apparatus according to claim5, wherein said second rocker arm hydraulic cylinder unit connection isproximate to said first boom connection. u